High school football playoff brackets set

In the span of 24 hours, the Georgetown coach went from believing his school had earned its fourth home playoff game in school history to discovering it was actually playing a road game. And then it hit him that going to Airport for a Class AAA first-round game may not be the worst thing for his team.

“We seem to play better on the road anyway,” said Adams’ whose team is 4-1 on the road, including Thursday’s crucial win at Wilson. “I don’t know. It’s just unique. Our kids just seem to respond better at other people’s places. They tend to get involved and get excited about what’s going on.”

Earlier in the week, the Region VII-AAA athletics directors met and agreed to use defensive points allowed to separate three-way ties between schools. Georgetown’s win over Wilson and North Myrtle Beach’s stunning upset over state No. 1 Myrtle Beach meant the Bulldogs, Chiefs and Wilson all finished 3-2 in region play.

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However, what the athletics directors forgot was that a region constitution that uses a tie-breaker policy awarding more points for wins over better teams in the division already existed. The paperwork clearly states that North Myrtle Beach, courtesy of wins over the Seahawks and Georgetown (7-3 overall), had more points. The Chiefs (4-6) were awarded the No. 2 seed out of Region VII-AAA, and they will play host to No. 3 seed Midland Valley on Friday to open the playoffs.

“I’m really happy for our kids, and our community and our school,” North Myrtle Beach coach Blair Hardin said. “I didn’t like how we started, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

“Confidence is a good thing, especially going into the playoffs. Right now, our players have confidence.”

Myrtle Beach, which had already locked up the top seed, will be at home against Gilbert.

In Class AA, Mullins’ win over Marion on Friday night ultimately meant that all three area Region VIII-AA teams were headed to the postseason, all in the Class AA, Division I Lower State bracket.

No. 8 Aynor will be playing at region rival and top playoff seed Dillon. No. 3 Loris will play host to No. 6 Wade Hampton, and No. 5 Waccamaw will be on the road at No. 4 Lake Marion.

The four region teams will make up half of that Lower State bracket among the biggest teams in the class.

In Class A, Carvers Bay was expectedly left out of the postseason after falling to rival Hemingway to finish a 3-7 season. The Bears fell short in the system that selects eight teams (out of 11 possible) to compete in the Lower State bracket of Class A, Division I. It was just the second time Nate Thompson’s team has missed the playoffs since the school opened in 2000.

Green Sea-Floyds and St. James entered the final week of the regular season already eliminated from playoff contention.

Class AAAA will complete its regular season this Friday, with playoff games commencing November 14.

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Socastee High defensive back Kenney Solomon signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to play at the University of Tennessee. Other Myrtle Beach area players also signed to play college football.